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We have always pictured this stalwart Food52 voice from the north as Canadian through and through: after all, she is "cooking in Victoria." Fine print, people! But this cook's a transplanted New Yorker who opted for "a yard with plum and apple trees, a raspberry and strawberry patch and a Concord grape arbor" over the fresh ravioli and bagels back east. Frankly, it sounds like a more than decent trade when you tack on her mushrooming vegetable and herb garden and the inevitably divine let's-all-move-out-west-shall-we farmer's market around the corner. Not even a sesame H&H (may she rest in peace) toasted dark with cream cheese holds a candle to that sort of bounty.

What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?Some stringy, unidentified meat in China (hopefully, it wasn't dog or cat!)

What do you cook when home alone?Pasta with lots of butter and Parmesan cheese -- comfort food from childhood.

Your most treasured kitchen possession:My grandmother's salad bowl and a rolling pin my father made for me.

Your ideal meal:Homemade pasta, grilled lamb, locally grown vegetables, something chocolate for dessert, lots of good wine, all enjoyed with family and friends.

Something you'd like a chance to eat or cook:I would like to take a cook's tour through all of the regions of Italy.

The number of bottles of wine you own:Usually about 2-4 at any given time -- not enough!

The ideal number of guests for a dinner party is:4-6

Kitchen pet peeve:Not having a gas stove or a dishwasher!

Your favorite cookbook:My list changes all of the time, but right now my current faves are Adhoc at Home, Urban Italian, NY Times Essential Cookbook, and Good to the Grain (thank you, Food52, for introducing me to this book!)

In 2009, after living more than twenty years in NYC, my husband, young daughter and I packed up our lives and embarked on a grand adventure, moving to Victoria, B.C. There are many things that we miss about New York (among them ripe, vine-ripened tomatoes, fresh ravioli and New York bagels), but, I have to admit, that living in the Pacific Northwest has been pretty amazing food-wise. Now we have a yard with plum and apple trees, a raspberry and strawberry patch and a Concord grape arbor. I have a vegetable and herb garden, so I can grow at least some of our food. And we have an amazing farmer's market a block from our house.
I love cooking (and eating) seasonally and locally. And it's been very rewarding introducing my daughter to cooking and eating, and teaching her where our food comes from.

Comments (23)

Congratulations cookinginvictoria. Your Aunt Loretta sent me your recipe for Ragu and though I haven't yet made it, I plan to as soon as it cools off a little bit here. I will be looking forward to future recipes.

Just thought I'd put it out there: New York bagels are not real bagels. You have to go to Montréal for that. And in Vancouver, a ferry ride from Victoria, we have Siegel's Montréal bagels: boiled, then wood-fired baked. New York bagels taste like buns with holes. xsut

Wow -- what a huge surprise to turn on the computer this morning and find myself in the spotlight! I so floored and honored by this! Thank you food52 for the lovely write-up, and thanks everyone for all of the wonderful comments I love being a part of such a generous, supportive, and wise community of cooks. I really do feel like I am among friends here. I learn so much about food and cooking every day from all of you. This is such a great place to hang out -- I love food52!